The present invention relates generally to portable liquid storage containers and, more particularly, to a stable, low profile liquid container having a rotatable spout.
Portable containers for storing liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, water or the like are usually provided with upwardly extending spouts which are closed by an internally threaded cap screwed onto complementary external threads formed on the spout. Typically, container spouts are short to facilitate handling and storage of the containers; however, short spouts can be inconvenient when pouring liquid from the container into fuel tanks of equipment, such as kerosene heaters, automobiles, lawn mowers and the like. When liquid is poured from such storage containers, there is often spillage, resulting in irritating fumes and potentially hazardous situations, since the stored liquid may be highly flammable.
The spouts commonly provided on such containers are usually of a relatively large diameter to facilitate closure thereof. This increases the likelihood of spillage where the opening into which the liquid is poured is of relatively small diameter, as with gasoline powered lawn mowers, snow blowers, kerosene heaters, or the like.
A variety of solutions are proposed by the prior art to overcome these problems. For example, a conventional conical funnel may be used. Conventional funnels, however, have obvious disadvantages, since they frequently cannot be conveniently supported or manually held in place during pouring. For example, the fill opening of a lawn mower or the gasoline tank of an automobile may present obstacles which prevent a conventional funnel from being supported or even from engaging the opening of the tank. Also, conventional funnels are separate from the storage container and, hence, are often misplaced and unavailable when needed.
To overcome the disadvantages of conventional funnels, a number of prior art funnels are attached to the container for storage and/or dispensing the liquids. Examples of such apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 877,435; 2,580,811; and 3,987,943.
An alternate solution to the problem has been to include an open funnel more resembling a trough down which liquid can be poured from a storage container. Such "funnels" or troughs typically are secured in one position for pouring liquid from the container and then removed and resecured or pivoted to a second position for storing the funnel or trough with the container. Such arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,708,092 and 4,231,497.
Still another prior art solution is disclosed in U.S Pat. No. 2,673,664 wherein a combination handle/funnel is hingedly mounted to a container. The disclosed handle/funnel seals the opening of the container when closed into a handle forming position and opens the container to serve as a funnel when swung out from the container by means of the hinged mounting to dispense liquid from the container.
Finally, a variety of pivotally mounted, fully enclosed spouts are known in the prior art. Such spouts often combine a dispensing function through the enclosed spouts as well as a container sealing or closing arrangement by means of the pivotal attachment of the spout. Examples of a variety of pivoting enclosed spouts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 539,460; 2,816,695; and 4,125,207.
While these prior art devices alleviate some of the problems associated with dispensing liquids from conventional storage containers, there are still difficulties associated with each.
For example, the detachable spouts suffer from many of the same problems described above for a conventional funnel. The open funnel or trough arrangements tend to be sloppy and lead to spills if not carefully used. The hingedly mounted combination handle and funnel arrangement requires substantial strength to be used for supporting a container of any size. Finally, the various enclosed spout arrangements, while they prevent substantial spillage during pouring, do not permit direct visual observation by a user of the container. Furthermore, the known enclosed spout arrangements require multiple parts and, hence, tend to be expensive.
It is, therefore, apparent that a need exists for a liquid storage container which includes a convenient liquid dispensing arrangement, is inexpensive to manufacture, and overcomes the many difficulties noted of the prior art.